Susan Sarandon claimed her political beliefs have cost her movie roles.
During a press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, the “Thelma & Louise” star was asked if she thinks the “tides are changing” in the film industry — three years after she was dropped by her talent agency for her anti-Jewish rant.
“I think that the narrative has completely changed,” she said. “There’s a lot of things that people are aware of now.”
“In terms of the power structure, I’ve still had movies taken away recently, because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still,” Sarandon, 79, continued. “But that’s the power structure.”
The Oscar winner — whose new Italian film, “The Echo Chamber,” premiered at the festival on Sunday — noted that despite becoming an outsider in Hollywood, she feels “welcome” by people internationally.
“So it depends,” she said. “If it’s a major studio, I think there is, not just with me, but with other people, that have been told that that is impossible.”
Sarandon went on to thank her “Echo Chamber” director, Andrea Pallaoro, “because he didn’t listen to the warnings.”
“So I think, yes, there has been a change in terms of understanding of the situation, and I think the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry held by Zionists and [those] who have not relaxed their feelings towards me,” the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” actress explained.
She concluded, “But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m OK.”
Sarandon’s career faced a blow after she raged against Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
At the time, Sarandon said at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City that frightened Jews were “getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.”
She issued an official apology via social media two weeks later, explaining that her “phrasing was a terrible mistake.”
“It implies that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true,” Sarandon said. “I deeply regret diminishing this reality and hurting people with this comment. It was my intent to show solidarity in the struggle against bigotry of all kinds, and I am sorry I failed to do so.”
Despite her apology, Sarandon was dropped not only by top Hollywood agency UTA, but also by a production companythat decided they no longer wanted to work with the “Feud” actress due to her controversial remarks.
“We were considering her for a short film, but due to her recent statements, we have decided to pursue other options,” David Barroso, the co-founder of the indie film production company, told Page Six at the time.
“The Echo Chamber” will be released in Italy on Thursday.
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